Sgt. Claude W. Tracey's Diary

Engineer, 601st Squadron

Diary History

  1. Veteran/Position/Squadron/Crew:
    1. Sgt. Claude W. Tracey
    2. B-17 Engineer
    3. 601st Squadron
    4. Tom E. Marchbanks Jr. Crew
  2. Original Diary Location:
     The handwritten original diary is with Ron Tracey, son of Claude Tracey. In September 2008, Ron wrote that while going through papers that survived hurricane Katrina he came upon a small booklet titled "My Missions Over Germany" by Claude Tracey. Ron Tracey provided a transcription of the diary to Wally Blackwell, 398th President and later to Dave Jordan, our then 398th Webmaster.
  3. Copies at Key Repositories:
    1. 8th AF Heritage Museum in Savannah: No
    2. Hertfordshire Archives: No
    3. 398th's Wally Blackwell: No
    4. 398th's Lee Bradley: electronic
    5. 398th's Jack's Books: No
    6. 398th's Dave Jordan: electronic
    7. 398th's Allen Ostrom: No
    8. 398th Web Site/Archive: electronic
  4. Period Covered:
     The diary lists key locations and dates beginning with their departure on 22 November 1944 to 25 April 1945.
  5. When written:
     Thought to be written after each mission.
  6. Transcriber to Electronic Text:
     In September 2008, Ron Tracey transcribed a copy of the original Claude Tracey diary to electronic text for the 398th Web Page.
  7. Contact Information:
     Comments or corrections about this diary can be sent to the 398th Comment Coordinator.
  8. Epilogue:
    Claude Tracey retired from the United States Air Force as a Master Sergeant. He was a missileman with the Atlas missile silos around Plattsburgh AFB in upstate New York. After retirement he went to work for NASA and the Saturn rocket program - the rocket that first took man to the moon. His duties were in the testing of the rocket engines at the Mississippi Test Facility, near Waveland, Mississippi. Claude passed away in January, 1975 and is buried in Waveland, Mississippi. Contributed by his son Ron Tracey in September 2008.